(10/3) Sandra K. Dalton, clerk of the Circuit Court of Frederick County, swore in Martin Burns for a second term as mayor of Thurmont and presented him with a certificate recognizing his
achievement during a town meeting Tuesday night.

‘‘It is a privilege and an honor to be elected to a second term as mayor," Burns said. ‘‘I could not have done it without this board of commissioners."

Burns acknowledged that he had made some mistakes in his first term as a ‘‘rookie mayor," but expressed confidence that he and the board would continue to work well together in the next four years.

After Burns was sworn in, he gave the oath of office to Commissioners Wayne Hooper and Ron Terpko, who had both also been re-elected.

‘‘We’ve really started to work together, and hopefully we can work everything out," Hooper said.

This will be Hooper’s fifth term as commissioner.

Terpko thanked everyone for coming out to vote, and said he was looking forward to his second term in office.

‘‘The last two years have been a pleasure," Terpko said.

Trolley project moves forward

Thurmont First has secured $20,500 in commitments, mostly in donated labor, to bring Trolley No. 5 back to Thurmont and place it on the site of the original trolley station on Main Street, adjacent to the entrance of carnival grounds, Thurmont First spokesperson John Kinnaird said.

Once fully restored, the trolley will help to revitalize the downtown area in Thurmont and serve as a tourist attraction.

Kinnaird estimated the total cost for the restoration, including transportation of the trolley from its current location in Pennsylvania, would be about $60,000.

James Castle of Castle Consulting in Frederick plans to submit a grant application to the Maryland Historic Trust to help fund the project, and received approval to do so from the board. If the Maryland Historic Trust approves the grant, the town would receive the money in March or April, Castle
said.

Kinnaird and Castle stressed that funding for the project would not come out of the town’s budget or use taxpayer money.

‘‘We would not spend any more than we are able to raise for this project," Kinnaird said. ‘‘I think this is going to be such an attraction for ...Thurmont that we will have no problem getting additional funding."

Board extends mayor’s authority into second term

Town commissioners voted Tuesday to continue allowing the mayor to approve small expenditures without having to go through the board first.

The vote allows the mayor to approve expenditures up to $2,500 on any one item without consulting the board first, not to exceed $10,000 by the end of the fiscal year.

Because the town charter is unclear on the mayor’s authority to approve such expenditures, Burns first asked the board to approve the matter in September.

The September vote only applied through the end of the mayor’s first term, Oct. 31.